Out With The Old...

First of all, let me apologize profusely for not getting another 50 Shades recap up in 2012. Sometimes I plan to do things, and then I remember have kids and a job and shit. And while this blog is a part of my job, sometimes other aspects of the job jump up and overwhelm me. Marketing, for example.

You see, starting today, January 1, 2013, I am hereby rebranding myself. I will no longer be publishing or promoting myself under the name "Jennifer Armintrout." Henceforth, I will be Jenny Trout.

You may be wondering why, after I suddenly gained a whole new following, I would do something to potentially confuse new readers. The problem I'm finding is that new readers are already getting confused, due to the similarity between my name and the name of an other author. In order to distinguish myself and my "brand" (I hate talking about myself in marketing terms), I'm changing my name. That will save both of us some grief, and save some tweeters and emailers embarrassment. Because they're usually MORTIFIED when they find they've contacted the wrong Jennifer.

Also, when I got interested in writing erotic romance, that was sort of... all I did. I let Jennifer Armintrout drop off the face of the planet. As such, Jennifer Armintrout hasn't sold a book in three years, even though she had a book come out in 2011. Jennifer Armintrout is, for all intents and purposes, out of the game. I'm looking at 2013 as the year I re-enter the realm of horror and urban fantasy, and it will just be easier to start fresh, with a new name.

Plus, let's take a look at the photographic evidence:

 

Does that person look responsible enough to have a name like Jennifer Armintrout? Jennifer Armintrout is the name of serious person. Jenny Trout tells you right off the bat, "This person is probably not quite right. And she probably makes dangerous decisions around large birds."

See how up close that picture was? That's not zoomed in, I actually get that close to wildlife. I clearly can't be trusted with a name as long as Jennifer Armintrout.

Another big plus for me is that well-meaning racists won't ask me if my name is Native American in origin. Which happens embarrassingly often. And I won't be sharing a phonetic pronunciation with a character on Breaking Bad. And I already answer to Jenny Trout in most cases, because childhood friends always shortened my name to either Jenny or Trout.

So, what's going to change, and what's going to stay the same?

Changing:

• This blog's address. Starting February 1st, the url for this blog will change. There will be many reminders, so that you can update your bookmarks and links and stuff.
• My author website is no longer jenniferarmintrout.com, but JennyTrout.com. You should go check it out, and bookmark it. It will be updated more often than the old site.
• My facebook page. I'll be creating an author page for Jenny Trout. I hate to do that, because I know what a pain in the ass it is to go like another page or whatever. But Facebook won't let me change the name on my Jennifer Armintrout page because I have more than 200 followers.  You can find me on Facebook now at facebook.com/JennyTroutAuthor.

Not Changing:

• My blog content or general sense of self or identity.
• My twitter. The name on the account will change, but I will remain @JArmintrout, because I've had the account for a long time and I don't feel like asking everyone to change. This is a lie. Within moments of posting this, someone showed me how to change my twitter account. You can now follow me on twitter as @Jenny_Trout.
• My email address (for right now). I haven't quite figured out how to make that switch.

So, with that, please continue with your regularly scheduled lives. Please do check out the new site, the new facebook that has nothing on it, and let's all hope and pray that we never have to do this ever again.

I hope this all explains why The Boss street team emails haven't gone out yet, or why I haven't done another recap. This was quite a feat to orchestrate, and my obsessive compulsive disorder really wanted to be sure this kicked off on the 1st of the year.

OH! And before the comments start rolling in, let me add: I'm aware that there is a Canadian hero named Jennie Trout, and a Kurt Vonnegut character named Jenny Trout. These were also factors in my decision, as was my eternal worship of The Artist Formerly Known As Prince, or just Prince, or Steve or whatever he's calling himself these days.